Patch antennas are commonly used in electronic equipment. They have an advantage of being effective while not requiring a long radiating element. Current patch antennas are typically fabricated as a unitary device and coupled to a printed circuit board assembly by cables and connectors that are often soldered at both ends to attachment points on the patch antenna and on the printed circuit assembly. The ground plane of the patch antenna must be mechanically and electrically attached to the printed circuit board with solder or conductive epoxy. These techniques add thickness, process complexity and potential reliability problems due to a severe mismatch between the thermal expansion coefficients of the printed circuit board and the antenna dielectric. Such combinations have a total thickness that typically exceeds the thickness of the patch antenna and the circuit board assembly by at least a millimeter and often more. It would be desirable to reduce the total thickness of the combination.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention.